Tajikistan remains the only owner of Ayni military airfield and aircraft of other counties not deployed at it

Tajikistan has never signed any agreements with other countries on joint use of the Ayni military airfield and Tajikistan remains the only owner of this airfield, a senior source at the Ministry of Defense (MoD) of Tajikistan told Asia-Plus in an interview.

According to him, reports disseminated by a number of foreign media that the military airfield is leased or shared with Russia, India or other states are unfounded.

“According to the existing agreements, the facility can be used jointly to hold joint exercises of the CSTO member states or the armed forces of Russia and Tajikistan, but no more than that,” the Defense Ministry said.

In 2002, India and Tajikistan signed an agreement to reconstruct the Aini military airfield, located in 25 km from Dushanbe, Tajikistan. The lease of this airfield was also claimed by Russia and the United States in different years.

In 2007, India invested funds for the reconstruction of the airfield. India rebuilt the hangars and air traffic control tower, and also extended the runway up to 3.2 kilometers.